social

Vicious: Sarah Palin's War on Wolves

September 11, 2008 | Wolves / Alaska Boycott

by Marybeth Holleman
Anchorage, Alaska

This past June, on a cool morning in southwest Alaska, fourteen wolf pups were pulled from their dens and shot in the head, one by one, by state biologists sanctioned by Governor Sarah Palin. At a month old, these pups had opened their eyes and ears less than two weeks earlier. They had ventured from the dark safety of the den once or twice. They had grown into rolling, tumbling, play-fighting puppies for whom their only care was, when would they next get to nurse?

They still depended entirely on their parents and their packs for food, shelter, protection. But every single adult member of their packs had already been gunned down from above by the Alaska state workers who shot them. These pups did nothing to deserve such a malicious early end to life other than to be born a wolf in Alaska in the era of Sarah Palin.

To most Americans in this day and age, this is atrocious. But to those of us who have watched Sarah Palin at work for the past two years, it's not at all surprising. As Governor, Palin has expanded Alaska's aerial hunting further and faster than any predecessor, since anything seen since territorial days, when all predators were targeted for extermination as worthless vermin.

I've lived in Alaska for nearly 25 years, long enough to see the on-again off-again cycles of predator control. But never has the killing of wolves and bears in order to inflate the numbers of moose and caribou been so widespread and mean-spirited as under Palin's reign.

Under Palin, private citizens kill wolves from planes under the guise of predator control. They run the wolves to exhaustion, and then shoot them. Under Palin, for the first time in 20 years, wolves are also gunned down from state-chartered helicopters. Palin authorized $400,000 in state funds for advertising to persuade Alaskans to vote against a ballot initiative that would have curtailed aerial hunting. Her propaganda was successful; the ballot measure failed.

Under Palin, for the first time since Alaska's statehood in 1958, it's legal to do land-and-shoot killing of bears and their cubs. Under Palin, predator control has spread from one to five regions of Alaska, to over 60,000 square miles, more than at any time since statehood. Nearly 800 wolves have been shot from planes, and some 2,000 are killed every year by other methods. And that's just the reported deaths. Palin even went so far last year as to put a bounty on wolves-she wanted to pay $150 for a foreleg of each dead wolf. Thanks to Friends of Animals, Alaska Wildlife Alliance, and Defenders of Wildlife, her wolf bounty was ruled illegal by the courts.

Wildlife scientists from around the country are dismayed at Palin's predator program, noting it doesn't meet the standards recommended by the U.S. National Research Council to justify, implement, monitor, and evaluate. Last year, 172 scientists wrote to Palin, warning her that if she did reach the "unsustainable historically high" moose and caribou numbers she sought, it would ecologically backfire in a huge way: not only would she put at risk the long-term health of Alaska's wolves, but of the very moose and caribou she sought to increase.

Palin would have the rest of Americans believe that this massive slaughter is acceptable, indeed necessary. She points to fifty years of statehood in which wolves have not become extinct. But the extent of the kill now far surpasses anything we've ever seen.

Even many Alaska hunters have grown outraged over Palin's out-of-control wolf control. Most recently, she's tried to give even more power to the Board of Game-the one that she appoints. This, wrote Alaska Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, would give her Board "more leeway without any scientific input to do whatever the hell they basically wanted." This program has been a true black eye for all hunters in Alaska, and for our state.
Contrary to what Palin would have Americans believe, only 14 percent of Alaskans hunt. Of those, a small percentage are true subsistence hunters. Palin wants wolves and bears scraped from the landscape so it's easier for urban hunters to get their kill in a weekend.

Don't let her fool you: Wasilla has just as many big-box and fast-food stores as any place in America, and just as many opportunities to make money to buy food. Alaskans haven't paid income tax for decades, and instead get over $1000 a year-for every man, woman, and child-in oil dividends. It's not economic necessity that drives the killing of wolves.

During Alaska's gubernatorial debates, Palin spoke with such passionate hatred about the need to kill wolves and bears that it sounded like we were thrown back into the dark ages of wildlife management, when bounties were paid for the feet of bald eagles, the fins of seals and sea lions, the skins of fox, coyote, wolf, and bear. Yes: bald eagles. They were blamed for eating too many salmon.

I was raised Catholic. I learned early on that if someone persecutes one group that's different from them, they also persecute others who are "different." It has taken the national media spotlight and her vicious statements on national stage to show Alaskans what we didn't know when Palin ran for Governor-to expose her disdain not only for non-human life, but also for those of different races, nationalities, and religions.

As a Catholic, I also learned that we have a responsibility to all living things. Not just human life, but all life. Which is, as we all now know, inextricably linked to all that we need in order to survive. Food, air, water, shelter. Safety. All that those wolf pups wanted from life. And all that was taken from them.

Comments

I hope Sarah has just "shot herself in the foot". What kind of hypocrisy are we dealing with here? So much for being "pro life". How can she justify murdering for commerce? This goes way beyond what Michael Vick did and look what happened to him. Is she above it all or just too arrogant and self absorbed to get it? Talk about being out of touch with the balance of nature. What an absolute outrage. I'm e-mailing this to everyone I know. Let's hope the american people find out about this before election day.

I hate her for this and I will NOT be supporting McCain just for this reason. I am not alone in this. Many people feel that way and I am glad. I will be posting and sharing this information any way I can. Please do the same and let us get the word out. This is just a tragic situation. .. It is people like Palin that make this country what it is right now. Sad but true. I also wanted to visit Alaska, but until things change I refuse to support such heartless and ignorant views.

I am sickened by the thought of this horrible atrosity!!! Who are we to destroy such a beautiful, respectable animal. If humans keep interrupting the natural existance of the animal chain, humans will pay the ultimate price. God put each animal and human here for a reason. I pray that some day they realize what they are doing.

I could not believe what I was reading. What a terrible thing. I thought if would be great to have her for V.P. but after reading this, "No Way". More people should read this article before they cast their votes.

You should see the video of Alaskans shooting wolves. It is horrible.
The Alaskans voted against it twice but the vote was overturned by the state legislature. I cannot imagine shooting an animal and watching it die a horrible death and offer a bounty of $150 for the cut off front leg.

There is not a word ugly enough to describe how I feel about Sarah Palin for these atrocities.
As the long list of reasons not to vote for her grows by leaps and bounds, so does my disgust at McCain for trying to pass her off as a viable candidate for VP. Sarah Palin any where near the White House? The thought of it terrifies me.
That said, this information needs to be sent out to every news station, website, and blog that might pick it up. I'd suggest Keith Olberman/Countdown at MSNBC. Is there a web address for this article that people can refer to?
The Devil Wears Prada? Perhaps. But as I see it, the devil wears lipstick, too.

I never liked Sarah Palin and after hearing about the slaughter of these wolf pups, I am disgusted with her. Our dear Lord tells us to forgive, and when I hear of incidents like these, it is precious hard to forgive anyone who could be connected to murder. Yes, it is murder, even though the victims were not human.
If Mccain were elected and died while in office, can you imagine what a disaster it would be to have her as our president? Not because she is a woman, but because she is a selfish, lost soul. I will pray for her and I will pray for her and Mccain to not get elected.